Rose Roots Composting 101
"Composting changed my Life. It made me realize nothing ever dies, ever. That's energy that turns into rich life-giving soul".
-Urban Garden Documentary "Can you Dig This"
Composting
Quick Tips
Do Add to the Compost Piles:
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Weeds
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Organic Matter
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Greens (alive) and Browns (completely dead) matter from your garden
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Do cut the pieces down to 2-4 inches so they can be mowed.
Don't Add to the Compost Piles:
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Metal pieces
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Small Plastic pieces
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Anything with pesticides
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Fruit or food (attracts animals)
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large rocks
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sunflowers
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large root balls
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Anything you can't mow
We encourage all gardeners to help break down our compost piles and learn about how we move our composting through a three box system. Feel free to ask composters at work for more information and get tips and tricks on composting from Rose Roots Gardeners in our quick tutorials below. Help turn our garden organic matter into Black Gold!
Note: Helping with composting can be part of your 12 Service hours required per season.
Please cc leadership@roserootsgarden.org and direct questions to:
Julie Gleason, Compost Lead, Master Composter: julie.gleason.O@gmail.com
Glen Andrews: Compost Lead: james.glenroy@gmail.com
All Videos
Julie talks Compost Basics 101
Julie talks Compost Basics 101
Karel says Composting is Labor of love
Compost Boxes: How They Work
Glen and Julie answer Questions about Compost Boxes
Reasons we Compost
Why Bother?!
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Its free and highly valuable to our garden soils!
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It reduces waste in our landfills
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It saves costly water by serving as a mulch and keeping water in for your plants
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Its fun to make something out of nothing!
Who Are our Compost Gurus?
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Julie Gleason, Master Gardener
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Patty Sacks, Landscape Architect, Garden VP and Thurs Work Crew Lead
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Karel Hemler, Lead of East Composting Area and Compost Experiment outside West side of garden (behind orange fencing)
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Glen Andrews, Lead of West Composting Area
Basic Rose Roots Composting Steps
1. Make Green and Brown piles of organic matter and cut pieces down to 4-6 inches.
2. Mow pieces down to 2 inches.
3. Layer even parts Greens and Browns into first compost bin. Water until moist like a "squeezed out sponge"
4. Let sit for a few weeks with lid closed. Move to Second bin when it has reduced some.
5. Water in second bin and let sit with lid closed for several weeks or until reduced or "cooked".
6. Move to third bin, water, let sit and remove when it looks like dark rich soil. Spread on compost to nurture nutrient rich healthy vegetables!
See "8 Common Composting Mistakes You're Making" Here from BHG.com